Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil
by PurpleForDonnie
Summary: The turtles wake up in a strange lab, only to find that Raphael cannot see, Donatello cannot hear, and Leonardo cannot speak. Michelangelo has not been tampered with...Then they are set free. Suspicious? Who's behind it all and how can they save themselves before the damage is permanent? Chaos ensues! *Enjoy! :-) *
1. Chapter 1

****Author's Note: Hi! For anybody who actually kept up with this story, you're probably wondering why I've updated this story when I finished it like a million years ago... Well! I decide to fix the awful paragraphing that my old phone caused, and make actual chapters! I hope it works out okay! :-) Thanks for reading anyhow! ****

It was a dark night; the moon was covered by the clouds, and the air felt heavy with an oncoming storm.

New York was as quiet as New York could get, with minimal traffic.

People were holed in their houses because of the approaching rain, making it the perfect night for the turtles to sneak from the sewers to get some fresh air.

Michelangelo, the youngest turtle, slid his skateboard down the railing of steps to a library, as Leonardo sped by on his scooter.

Raphael caught up in his inline skates, a competitive smirk on his face.

Donatello came up a close last, his bicycle almost catching up with Raphael, and his purple flag whipping in the breeze behind him.

"I'm closing in, Mikey!" Leo exclaimed, as his scooter neared Mikey's skateboard. "We'll see if you ever challenge ME again!"

"I don't think so!" Mikey laughed, pushing his board with his right foot.

"Somehow, I don't think this is completely fair," Donnie huffed, pedaling his bicycle furiously.

"Get over it, Einstein," Raph replied from ahead of him. "Ya should be used to comin' in last."

Donnie rolled his eyes and pedaled faster, passing Raphael up with a laugh.

"How does my flag look from back there, Raph?" Donnie gloated.

Leo pushed past Mikey, but the orange turtle grabbed onto Leo's arm and flung him out of the way.

Laughter filled the empty backstreets as the brothers raced to the corner.

Suddenly, thunder rolled through the sky, and lightning flashed.

"We should probably get home," Donnie called. "Judging by the sudden drop in temperature, and the volume of the thunder, I'd say it's about to start pouring any second!"

"You're only saying that 'cause you're losing!" Mikey complained.

"Technically, Raph's losing, Mikey," Donnie corrected, annoyed.

"Won't be that way for long," Raph huffed, speeding up and passing Donnie with a triumphant, "Yeah!"

Thunder rolled again, and the skies opened up above them.

The turtles ducked into the pelting rain, and slowed down their 'vehicles'.

"I tol-" Donnie started.

"Don't ya dare say I told ya so, Bonehead," Raph threatened.

Raph reached down and pressed a button behind his skate, sending the wheels up into the sole, turning the inlines into normal shoes.

Donnie folded the handlebars of his bike, and turned the wheels up, sliding the small rectangle into a pouch on his back.

Mikey carried his skateboard in a holder on his hip, while Leo folded his scooter in half, pushing it into a pouch across the back of his shell.

"Come on, guys," Leo said sadly., as he headed back toward the manhole that led to their sewer and wiped the rain out of his eyes.

The turtles got halfway there before they heard something in the rain.

"What was that?" Raph asked, cocking his head to the side to listen.

"Let's go check it out," Leo suggested, running through the rain into an alley. His brothers followed along behind him, all curious as to what the noises were.

They exited the other side of the alley, the street lamps reflecting the falling raindrops. There were tons of small robots, all huddled up around something.

"I knew those metallic noises sounded familiar," Donnie said.

"Mousers," Raph growled, whipping out his sai.

"Look!" Mikey exclaimed, pointing into the misty rain. There was a girl with long black hair. She was up against the wall of a building, frantically kicking at the Mousers that surrounded her. Her wet hair stuck to her face and she tried to grab onto a loose brick to haul herself up away from the little robots.

"We hafta save her!" Mikey exclaimed, running into the rain with his nunchucks out.

"Mikey, wait!" Leo called, but his brother was already fighting the Mousers.

Raph shrugged and took off as well, always up fora good fight.

Donnie and Leo followed reluctantly, pulling out their weapons and running toward the action.

The Mousers still tried to get to the girl, but the turtles intervened, putting themselves in front of her and fending the robots off.

The Mousers grabbed onto their weapons with their teeth, and Raphael tried to fling them away.

The girl pushed past Leonardo, as if wanting to get caught, gasping as a Mouser grabbed hold of her leg. It sent her sprawling onto the ground. Leo reached down and yanked it off, hurling it about fifty feet to the left. He gave her an odd look.

Suddenly, the Mousers stilled, stopping completely. The robots made a single, simultaneous beeping noise, and turned and fled, disappearing into the darkness.

"Well...that was weird," Mikey stated, dropping his arms from his defense stance.

All the turtles were gasping for breath, as they put their weapons back in the holsters.

Raph reached a hand down to the black-haired girl, who was still sitting on the wet concrete.

"Look, now, we ain't gonna hurt ya or nothin' so-"

He pulled on her sleeve to help her up, and the fabric ripped at the shoulder, baring her arm.

There was a tattoo winding up her elbow, all the way to her shoulder.

"Ah, shell," Raph said, surprised, seeing the purple dragon.

The girl grinned.

She covered her nose and mouth with a hand, and jumped back into the alley.

There was gas all around the turtles, and they almost panicked. The gas choked them, and they put hands to their throats, trying to breathe.

Nobody was able to get a word out before the fogginess clouded their minds and they passed out.

The last thing the turtles felt was the rain hitting their faces.

Then nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

Mikey was sleeping. His sleep had no dreams; however, he kept hearing voices in the back of his mind.

He finally woke up with a start, blinking his eyes, and looking around the quiet room frantically.

Where was he?

A lab of some sort, it looked like. He was on a metal table, and it was cold. The room seemed to be freezing.

There were bright lights, and the walls were painted a blinding white.

Michelangelo was the only one of his brothers that was awake.

He could see Donnie on the table next to his, not even strapped down.

Then came Raph and then Leo.

Mikey was about to get up off the table when Donnie stirred in his sleep.

"Donnie! Don, wake up, bro!" Mikey shook his arm. "It's freezing in here!"

Donnie groaned, and sat up, holding his head. He pried his eyes open and rubbed them, finally looking at Mikey.

"Donnie," Mikey whispered, "We hafta get outta here!"

"What?!" Donnie screamed, putting a hand up to his ear. "Mike-" Donnie's head felt stopped up. He cut his sentence short to listen to himself.

He tapped the side of his head, and flexed his jaw muscles, opening his mouth wide. He snapped his fingers next to his ear.

"Donnie, what're you doing?" Mikey asked, with an odd look.

Donatello looked stricken, and started breathing deeply, trying to control his panic.

"Mikey! Mikey, I can't hear anything!" Donnie exclaimed, holding his head.

"What?" Mikey gasped.

"I can't hear you! I- I can't hear myself!" Donnie cried, his voice sounding odd. Too loud, and a bit slurred.

Suddenly, Leo's hand flopped up above his head in his sleep, and he opened his eyes.

"Leo! Leo, wake up!" Mikey exclaimed, panicking. "Donnie can't hear anything, Leo!"

Leonardo sat up slowly and shook his head to clear his mind. Then he looked at Mikey.

"What?" Leo started to ask, then realized he couldn't make a sound. He put a hand to his throat, and tried to speak, but it was as if his throat refused to work.

Leo opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water, pressing his hand against his throat, and shaking his head.

"Oh no! Leo can't breathe!" Mikey gasped dramatically.

"Mikey!" Donnie yelled, unaware that his brother was even panicking, "I don't think Leo can speak!"

"Oh," Mikey sighed in relief, running a hand over his forehead.

Leo swallowed, and tried taking huge breaths, to no avail.

"What's going on here?!" Mikey wailed.

Raphael turned in his sleep and rubbed his face, tiredly.

"Raph! Are you okay, buddy?" Mikey called, reaching past Donnie to shake him.

"Don't touch me, moron," Raph growled, sitting up on his table and rubbing his eyes.

He blinked and looked around the room.

"Woah, why's it so dark in here?" Raph mumbled. "Can't even see my hand in fronna my face."

"What're you talking about, Raph? It's not dark in here," Mikey said, confused, scratching his head.

"You better not be messin' with me, lamebrain," Raph threatened. "You tellin' me it ain't dark in here?"

"I can see you and everything," Mikey replied.

Raph waved a hand in front of his face, then closed his eyes and touched his eyelids.

"Dammit, I can't see nothin'!" Raph exclaimed. "I think I'm blind!"

Mikey and Leo let this sink in for a second. Donnie could tell by the way Raph was rubbing his eyes that he couldn't see.

The panic was evident in the atmosphere, when all of a sudden a speaker buzzed overhead.

Everyone could hear it but Donnie, who could also see everyone looking up oddly at the ceiling.

"What's going on?" Donnie yelled, desperate for information.

"Mutants," a familiar soft voice spoke through the speakers. It had a slightly unstable tone to it, as if the speaker was unable to control his excitement. "It's time for a game."

"Bishop," Raph growled, flinging himself off his gurney, getting his foot caught in the wheel and smashing into Donnie's table.

"Thanks, Raph," Donnie yelled sarcastically. "I can't hear anything. I might as well break my legs since this has been such a good day."

"I'll show you what a good day is-" Raph started.

Leo, who would usually tell his brothers to be quiet, reached over and pulled Raph's arm.

Raphael jumped a foot into the air, not being able to see who had grabbed his elbow.

"For the last time, don't touch me!" Raph exclaimed, pushing the anonymous hand away.

"Mutants," the speaker buzzed in Bishop's insane voice. " Let's see how well you manage with your weakest link as the leader."

Leonardo looked at Mikey, who seemed to be the only one of them with all his senses. The youngest turtle looked insulted at being called the weakest of them all.

"I'll be in touch," the speaker voice said, in an almost maniacally gleeful tone. "This is only the beginning."

Everyone but Raph watched as a large metal door opened into a back parking lot, still night time but no longer raining.

"You are free to go," Bishop finalized.

"What does he mean, we're free ta go? Nothin's THAT easy," Raph said.

Donnie decided to start reading lips, so he wouldn't be completely clueless as to what was going on, and watched as Raph asked the question to no one in particular.

"It doesn't matter," Donnie replied, still a slur in his words. "Let's get out of here so we can figure this out."

The turtles jumped up and started out the door, Raph holding his arms out as he walked. He found his way to the wall and felt his way to the opening.


	3. Chapter 3

Outside, there was a slight breeze, and the night was cool.

"Mikey," Donnie turned to him. "You're the only one with all your senses. You have to be my ears, Raph's eyes, and Leo's voice. What was going on in there? Who was speaking?"

"Bishop," Mikey over-enunciated so Donnie could understand him. "He's playing a game!"

"A game?" Donnie asked.

"With us!" Mikey concluded.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Raph said. "We can fill Einstein in when we get back to the lair. I don't like this. Why the shell would Bishop just let us go? It don't make any sense."

"Come on," Mikey added suddenly. "Let's try the rooftops."

They all turned directly to their left, which was the closest building.

Mikey bounded up with no problem, as did Leo.

"I don't think this is a very good idea," Donnie put in. "The inner ear is directly tied to the sense of balance, and right now, I'm not feeling very stable."

"How'm I s'posed ta get up there?" Raph asked. "I don't even know where the shell we are."

Mikey hopped back down and grabbed Raph's arm, pulling him toward the building.

He helped his angry brother get up the first windowsill, and realized that this would be harder than he thought it would.

Raph finally got to the roof, after about ten minutes of hugging the side of the building, feeling very insecure because of the height.

"We can't do this," Mikey complained after they were all up onto the roof. He didn't think he could shepherd Raph all the way to the sewer. "We need to walk in the alley instead. Its dark down there and if you fall, it's not from five stories." He paused, thinking, tapping his chin. "Let's go back down."

"You kiddin' me, numbskull?" Raph griped. "I got all the way up here, and now ya wanna go back down?!"

"It's too dangerous!" Mikey defended. He already felt like an idiot. Bishop had called him the weak link; that meant he was the dumbest, the weakest, pretty much the all-around worst ninja.

Leo jumped back down to the windowsill with no problems, watching as Mikey helped an agitated Raph jump it.

Donnie was next, and he looked unsteady on his feet.

Donatello crouched, wobbling a bit, but holding onto the side of the roof for support.

He finally hurled himself off the ledge, toward the sill.

With a startling revelation, Donnie realized he had over judged it, and missed, hurtling ten stories toward the street.

Leo and Mikey gasped and reached out, frantically grabbing onto the back of Donnie's shell, hauling him back up onto the sill.

"See what I mean? Dangerous!" Mikey groaned as he and Leo set Donnie on his feet.

"Sorry!" Donnie yelled. "My balance-" He stopped, catching his breath.

They all got back down onto solid ground.

"Okay, okay," Mikey said, looking around. "I, uh, guess we cross the street."

"Be glad I can't see where ya are right now," Raph said pointedly.

"I got it!" Mikey exclaimed. "Everyone hold hands!"

"What?!" Raph yelled, having obvious problems with the entire scenario in general. "We're gonna hold hands while crossin' the street?! Whaddaya think we are, five?"

Mikey ignored his brother and got in front of the line. Donnie stood next to him, grabbing his hand, still feeling a little disoriented.

Leo reached behind him, putting Raph's hands on his shoulders. He wanted to make sure Raph didn't wander off, as he was likely to do.

"Who do I gotta punch?" Raph asked, in regards to being touched.

Silence.

"It's Leo, ain't it?" Raph huffed in agitation.

Nobody answered. They got in line: Mikey, Donnie, Raph, then Leo.

The turtles slowly crossed the wet street, thankfully not meeting any cars.

Mikey realized how slow-going this was turning out to be.

"We still have our weapons," Donnie yelled suddenly, as if he had just noticed, or was going somewhere with the idea.

"So, what?" Raph asked, knowing the intelligent turtle couldn't hear him.

"That means we still have our shell cells. We could call Casey or April," Donnie finished.

"Good idea!" Mikey grinned, glad to be finally getting somewhere.

Leo pulled out his shell cell and tossed it to Mikey.

The orange turtle dialed Casey's number and put the phone up to his ear, nervously chewing on his lip.

Casey Jones answered on the first ring.

"Leo?" Casey asked, sounding rushed and out of breath. Worried.

"We're in an alley on the corner of Oak and Ninth. Come and get us," Mikey said, then hung up, tossing the phone back to Leo.

It was only about two minutes before the Shellraiser came speeding around the corner.

The rigged vehicle stopped suddenly, leaving skid marks smoking down the street.

The door flew open, showing a frantic April in the driver's seat, with Casey in the back, looking relieved to see his friends.

The turtles filed into the Shellraiser, Leo still helping Raph.

"Hey, man," Casey said worriedly to Raph, holding out his hand for their signature handshake.

"I can't see ya, Casey," Raph said.

"What?" Casey asked, dropping his hand.

April sped off again, racing down the street.

"Where have you guys been?" April asked, looking at them through the video screens Donnie had installed in the front.

"You've been missin' for two days," Casey added.

"What?" Mikey exclaimed. "Two days?!"

"What happened?" Casey inquired. "Why can't Raph see?"

"Well, I can't see, Donnie can't hear, and Leo can't talk. Somehow Mikey got outta it," Raph explained, just staring down at the floor, seeing only blackness.

"Why? Where did ya guys go?" Casey asked, bumping into the wall as April rounded a curve too fast.

"Bishop got us," Mikey replied. "We woke up in, like, a lab or something. He said all this stuff about playing a game with us."

"And I don't think it was a board game, either," Raph added dryly.

"The strange thing is, he just let us go," Donnie added, struggling to keep up with the conversation, studying the moving lips like they were rare scientific samples about to disappear into thin air.

"Woah, ya sound like ya've been drinkin'," Casey told Donnie, who sighed.

"It's because I can't hear myself enunciate," Donnie said loudly.

"So, what, Bishop messed ya guys up and then let ya go? Sorta like a game on how to fix it?" Casey asked.

"We don't know," Raph answered. "That's the problem. Bishop said it ain't over. We don't know what that means, so we gotta be careful. I can't see what's going on to fight. Donnie can't hear and Leo can't be the leader if he can't tell us what to do."

"What're we gonna do?" Mikey asked.

Leo shrugged almost helplessly, and pointed to the manhole centered in the middle of the black road.

April parked the Shellraiser and let the turtles and Casey out before she took it around to the secret entrance.

"I guess we go home for now," Donnie suggested. "Maybe the effects of whatever drug he used on us will wear off soon."

Leonardo pulled off the cover, revealing the dark entrance to their home.

The turtles and Casey entered the sewers once again.


	4. Chapter 4

Splinter was away visiting the Ancient One. They had been in touch for a few weeks, and Splinter had promised to visit soon.

The turtles had been alone for two days, and had twelve more days to go.

Well, if they could survive that long.

All Raph wanted to do was go a few rounds on his punching bag, but finding his way to it was the problem. He was stumbling his way around the lair, hands on the walls, trying to find the entrance to the dojo, where his punching bag was currently located.

Raph felt a hand on his arm, and he jerked it away in frustration.

"No, Leo. I'm gonna find it myself!" Raph growled. He wasn't used to being weak, to being vulnerable.

He was going to learn how to live with blindness if it killed him.

Leo removed his hand from his brother's arm. If Raph didn't want his help, then that was fine.

He was only trying to tell Raph he was headed for the stairs.

Raphael kept walking, his head high. Then he got to the steps.

His foot hit the first one, catching him by surprise, and he tripped, landing face-first. His face, unfortunately, broke his fall.

"Dammit, Leo, why didn't ya say somethin'?" Raph exclaimed, then remembered their situation. He huffed, pulling himself back up, and headed the opposite direction, his arms out and his chin in the air indignantly.

Leo chuckled silently and headed into the kitchen.

...

Donnie was in his lab, trying to think. Casey and April were with Mikey, and Donatello wanted to sit in his lab and just try to figure out what was going on.

He wasn't used to this lack of information. Hearing was half of intelligence. You had to hear things in order to know how to respond to them.

He thought about their situation long and hard, but couldn't think of any reason Bishop would capture them, and then let them go.

Did he take DNA samples while they were out? Did he study them? Did he drug them?

At the end, Donnie came up with more questions than answers.

He just hoped their senses would be restored by the morning.

...

Mikey plopped down on the couch dramatically.

"Man! This was supposed to be a vacation! Master Splinter's visiting the Ancient One. We were supposed to do minimal training while he was gone, dude. Minimal training!" He sat up and mimicked their Sensei. "My sons, while I am away you shall practice the techniques I have taught you during this session. Repeat them fifty times a day, twenty-five in the morning and likewise at night."

Mikey turned back to Casey and April, who were getting ready to leave.

"Mikey, call us of anything comes up," April said, looking worried.

"Yeah," Casey agreed. "Any time, any where. I'll be there!" He pulled out his hockey stick.

"Put that down before you hurt yourself," April joked, heading out the door.

"Thanks for coming to get us," Donnie said, coming out of his lab.

"No problem, guys," April replied slowly so Donnie could understand. "Call me if your senses come back. I'll be here tomorrow afternoon, okay? I'll try to figure out anything I can about Bishop. If these effects don't wear off soon, we'll need the information."

"Thanks," Donnie said, still talking too loudly.

Casey and April left, leaving the broken turtles to themselves.

Raph suddenly wandered back into the room, hands in front of him.

"Am I in the dojo yet?" Raph called.

"No, you're in the main room by the kitchen. You haven't even found the dojo?" Donnie slurred. "You've been walking around for twenty minutes!"

"Shut it, Don, it's a big place," Raph grumbled, giving up, finding the couch, and sitting next to Mikey. "I can't do this whole bein' blind thing. How the shell am I s'posed to do anythin'?"

"Uh, that's the point, dude," Mikey replied like it was obvious.

"Ya want me to use YOU as a punchin' bag?" Raph threatened, shaking a fist in Mikey's general direction.

"Could you guys talk slower?" Donnie asked, loudly. "I'm having trouble keeping up."

"I'M havin' trouble walkin'! I can't even find the bathroom!" Raph griped.

"Yeah, you got the short end of the stick," Mikey grinned.

"Ya know what?" Raph asked. "I'll take my short end of the stick an' shove it up your-"

"I'm going to bed," Donnie announced, walking from his lab to the stairs, stretching. He was still a little wobbly on the steps and noticed he had to hold on to the railing to stay steady.

"You're just jealous 'cause I have all my sense!" Mikey goaded.

"Mikey, you've never had all your sense," Raph pointed out.

"Fine! If that's how you feel, then I'm going to bed, too!" Mikey stood up and stomped to the stairs, behind Donnie.

They both disappeared up the second floor.

Raph sat there for a second, arms crossed, smoke coming out his ears, jaw set.

Then he heard footsteps coming from the kitchen.

"Leo?" Raph asked quietly.

No answer.

Yeah, it was Leo.

Raphael felt a stern hand on his shoulder, and he could practically hear his brother in his head.

'I know you don't like to be touched, Raph, but you're just going to have to get over it. I can't talk to you, and you can't see me. And you shouldn't take your anger out on Mikey; none of this is his fault.'

"I know I shouldn't a got mad at Mikey, okay?" Raph huffed. "It's just, why's he gotta keep all his senses while I'm stumblin' 'round this place like an idiot?"

Leo's hand gave Raph's shoulder a squeeze, and Raph could just hear Leo's straight-edge answer.

'You know Mikey probably feels horrible on the inside. The reason he got to keep all his senses was because he was considered the least capable.'

"I KNOW, Leo!" Raph exclaimed. "Ya don't gotta make me feel guilty about it. Tomorrow mornin', I'll apologize, ya happy?"

Leo patted his brother's arm and smiled.

Why was he getting the feeling that he was a better leader when he didn't talk?

Leonardo walked up to the stairs to go to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

It was a habit for Raphael to check on his brothers every single night.

He wouldn't admit it even if he were tied down by Bishop himself, a saw buzzing at his plastron.

Every single night before he went to bed, Raphael would peek into each brother's room to make sure they were okay. He started doing this when he was about nine, after horrid dreams of his family dying.

He knew Leo did this sometimes, too, on nights where their fights had been unusually stressful.

But Raph did this every night.

He didn't know if his brothers knew it, and he didn't care.

All he cared about now was how he was going to get up the stairs to his bedroom.

He could always sleep on the couch, but then he wouldn't be able to check on his brothers. If he didn't make sure they were okay, he wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

He growled, and stood up, remembering how he had stumbled around the lair all day, never reaching his destination.

Raph walked in the direction he thought the stairs were, tip-toeing for about five minutes.

Where the shell was he now? The stairs weren't THAT far away.

Suddenly, he hit something, and it smacked him in the face.

He reached out and grabbed it, pulling it towards him.

His punching bag.

He was in the dojo.

"What the shell?" Raph yelled. "I don't NEED to be in the dojo now! I need ta be on the stairs!"

Why was it looking like once Raph couldn't see, their lair seemed a whole shell of a lot bigger?

Raph turned in the opposite direction and continued walking, cursing irony and their damn turtle luck.

...

Donatello wasn't asleep yet. He was laying in bed, hands under his head like a pillow.

Thinking. Staring up at his dark ceiling.

Every now and then, he'd snap his fingers by his ears, seeing if their disabilities had worn off.

How had Bishop managed to get a Purple Dragon girl to work for him? Had he paid her?

What if the effects didn't wear off by tomorrow? Would he and his brothers have to break into Bishop's lab and steal an antidote somehow?

Was there even an antidote?

Was this permanent?

Suddenly, Donnie sat straight up in bed and remembered something.

They had left Raph downstairs, and he probably wouldn't be able to find his way up to his room.

Donnie stood up, steadied himself on his bedside table, and opened his door.

He made his way down the hall and, in the dim light, saw that Raph had found the stairs, and was now feeling the side of the hall for Mikey's door.

To apologize?

No, Donnie realized.

He knew that Raph used to check on them sometimes. He just didn't know that he still did, now that they were older.

He had heard Raph open his door once, when they were younger. Maybe ten, eleven years old.

Donnie had been half-asleep, and had been too tired to ask his brother what he was doing. Raph had seemed to watch him for a second, to listen to Donnie's breathing. To make sure he was okay. Then Raph had closed the door and made his way down the hall.

Back then, Donnie hadn't cared if Raph checked on him or not.

But now, Raph was feeling along the wall, five feet from Mikey's door.

Donnie watched for minute, as Raph stumbled but tried to stay quiet.

"Go to bed, Raph," Donnie whispered.

Raphael jumped a foot, then glared at the general direction of his brother.

"What're ya doin' up, Einstein?" Raph inquired. Donnie tried to read his lips in the darkness.

"Getting a drink of water," Donnie replied falsely. "What about you?"

"Tryna find my way to my room," Raph replied, also falsely.

Donnie was quiet for a second, thinking.

"Go to bed. I'll check on them for you," Donnie finally suggested.

Raphael stopped, and slowly shook his head.

"No can do. This is somethin' I gotta do myself."

"If you're sure," Donnie said, hesitantly.

"I am," Raph insisted, slightly irritated, but also indignant.

"Alright, then," Donnie finalized, turning to go back to his room. "Night."

"What about yer water?" Raph asked.

"I'm not thirsty anymore," Donnie answered, closing the door to his room.

And, of course, about half an hour later, when Donnie was still awake, he saw the faint light of the hallway as his door opened.

He didn't look, but he knew Raph was standing there in the doorway.

He tried to make his breathing even, to sound like he was asleep.

Finally, after a couple seconds, the door closed, leaving Donnie in darkness again.

Donatello closed his eyes and didn't open them again until morning.


	6. Chapter 6

Donnie cracked open his eyes just as Mikey jumped on him.

"Woah, Mikey- what-" Donnie sputtered, as his younger brother pulled his blankets off.

"YOUR SIREN!" Mikey screamed. "IT'S GOING OFF! RIGHT NOW!"

Donnie jumped up, seeing Leo standing in the doorway, an uncertain expression on his face.

The brothers all ran down the stairs.

At the end, they all tripped on something and went sprawling across the floor.

Raph was laying on the floor at the bottom of the stairs, curled up, asleep.

"Raph! Why're you down here?" Mikey asked, above the sirens.

Raphael sat up and yawned, stretching.

"I, uh, sorta fell down the stairs last night, and didn't wanna climb all the way up again. So I just crashed down here. Literally," he added, rubbing the back of his head.

Donnie ran to his computers while Leo and Mikey helped their blind brother up off the floor.

"It-it-it's an oncoming prerecorded video message," Donnie exclaimed, pressing buttons and allowing the link to access his browser.

"Why's the alarm goin' off?" Raph asked, turning Donnie around in his computer chair so he could read his lips.

"Because the message is coming from an unknown PC. It could be a virus, but the location of the video is complex. Probably from a scientist-" Donnie turned back around and pressed Enter on the keyboard.

The message sprang to life, and the sirens stopped.

Bishop was on their computer screen, staring into the camera.

"Mutants. I told you I would be in touch," Bishop said in his softly deadly voice, the words scrolling on the bottom of the screen as he said them.

"Bishop!" Raph growled, angry.

"I assume the game is going well. Having to relearn everything you already know." Bishop chuckled. "I wish I could be there to see it. But I want you all to hear my plan. Yes, Donatello, the subtitles are for you."

Donnie growled and hit his fist off the table.

"I want you all to hear what I am doing," Bishop continued. "I know you are all wondering. Asking each other questions. The first, I assume, would be whether or not these effects are permanent." Bishop sat back in his chair and smiled. "Yes, for right now. It's a little drug I invented. I filled three syringes, and injected each of you with a different variety of the same drug. I designed them to target specific senses. Leonardo's drug targeted his sense of speaking, since he is the leader. Donatello's targeted his since of hearing, since he is the brains. Raphael's drug targeted his sense of vision, since he is so used to being in control. And Michelangelo." Bishop smiled again. "Michelangelo is only the sense of comic relief. This, I did not damage. Michelangelo, I left alone. I wanted to see how it would play out: the humor of them all suddenly being thrusted into the position of the leader. The incompetent suddenly becoming the only competent one."

Bishop leaned forward, rubbing his chin. He took a deep breath.

"So, now you know my why. Next, your other question; is there an antidote of some sort? The answer is also yes. There is, in fact, an antidote. And I will give it to you. But you have to follow the rules of the game. There will be four locations, and each location will contain a key. At the fourth and final location, there will be a box with four locks. Use the keys to open the box, and retrieve the antidote. Simple enough, yes?"

"There's gotta be a catch," Raph grumbled.

"The catch-" Bishop said suddenly, "-you have to complete all four locations and get the antidote in a certain amount of time. Because the longer you wait, the more my drug will deteriorate your targeted sense."

"What?!" Mikey exclaimed.

"The first location is on the blue, to the right. And it can only be seen in dark light." Bishop smiled to himself. "Enjoy the game, mutants."

The screen went black.

"A riddle?!" Raph growled.

"The blue WHAT?!" Donnie wondered. "And what's dark light? Light can't be dark!"

"Leo's blue!" Mikey grinned.

Leo's eyes snapped open, and he started looking at the right side of his body. He held his arm and leg out.

"You really think Bishop would put something on Leo?" Donnie exclaimed, seeing Leo checking the back of his calf muscle. "Well, we wouldn't be able to see if he did. Bishop said it could only be seen in dark light."

"Dark light?" Mikey asked.

"Maybe the light before the sun rises or sets or somethin'," Raph suggested.

Leo started jumping up and down, waving his arms, a grin on his face.

"What, Leo?" Donnie asked.

Leonardo tried to speak again, then tried to mouth the words. Finally, he huffed and pointed to the ceiling.

Nobody understood.

Leo grabbed up a small dry-erase board that had Donnie's equations written out on it, and erased everything with his fist.

"Hey!" Donnie protested. "I was on to something!"

Leo pulled the cap off the marker with his teeth and wrote "a black light". He held it up to his brothers.

"That- that's brilliant, Leo!" Donnie exclaimed, rushing to his lab. He flung open the door and disappeared inside.

Leo smiled smugly, happy to finally be of some help.

Donnie rushed out, half-stumbling because of his lack of balance. He stopped and held up a purple lightbulb.

"A black light!" Donnie walked to the small lamp beside his computer and twisted the special bulb into place. "Leo! Come here!" Don pushed the button and the lamp came on, giving everything an odd purple glow.

Leonardo held his arm under the light.

On his shoulder, above his forearm, there were white lines.

A tattoo.

"Look," Donnie said as Mikey and Raph walked closer. "It's a tattoo that only shows up under a black light."

"What's it say, Einstein? I can't see," Raph said, grabbing Donnie's shoulder and turning him around to ask.

"It says 1764 Delaney Avenue, New York," Donnie read off Leo's arm. "I guess that's where the first key is."

"Great. We gotta go to this Delaney place I ain't ever heard of, and I can't even see where I'm goin'!" Raph groaned.

Donnie was already pulling the address up on his computer.

"Here it is!" Donnie exclaimed, showing the exact building on Google Earth. "It's about half an hour away. Let's go."


	7. Chapter 7

They took the Shellraiser. Leo got to drive, sitting proudly in the front seat. Mikey was beside him, in the weapon controls. Raph was basically useless, and Donnie was yelling out the directions in his slurred voice.

They got to the specified location in thirty-five minutes and parked across the street, staring uncertainly at the building.

1764 Delaney Avenue was what looked to be a three-story hotel on the deserted outskirts of New York.

"What's it look like?" Raph asked.

"Dude, it's creepy!" Mikey replied. "It's got three floors and it's white and shadowy. And there's a creepy tree in the front yard! Man, I'm not going in THERE!" Mikey shuddered.

"Great! Just great!" Raph said sarcastically.

"Come on, guys," Donnie finally suggested, getting out of the car.

"Wait!" Mikey called, pulling his brother back in. "We need a plan!"

He turned to Leo.

Leo looked back with wide eyes, kicking back into leader mode.

He started scribbling on his whiteboard, which he was now carrying with him.

He held it up with a shrug.

'Okay, how about we just walk right in the front door? It's a hotel, and we have no idea what to expect. If people start screaming, then we leave.'

Mikey read it out loud for Raph.

"THAT'S your plan, Leo?" Mikey asked, frightened.

Leonardo gave him a look that clearly said, Well, if you have a better one, be my guest.

"Alright," Mikey said dubiously, getting out of the Shellraiser.

The brothers all made their way to the hotel.

Leo opened the door and they all walked inside. It was dark inside, and there were old white curtains flowing from the open windows.

"Dude, this places gives me the heebie-jeebies," Mikey whispered, rubbing his arms.

"I can't even see, and I can tell this place is creepy," Raph mumbled, his hand on Leo's shoulder as a guide.

The place was empty, as far as the turtles could tell.

Leo wrote something down on his whiteboard and held it up.

"Let's search the rooms," Mikey read Leo's instructions. "Wait, guys, look at this!" Mikey ran over to the dusty check-in desk. He reached out and pulled a note from under the paper weight. "It says, 'Test of leadership: Back door'," Mikey read. "What's that mean?"

"Guess that means we go ta the back door," Raph cracked his knuckles.

The back door was old and white, with a rusty brass doorknob. Leo gulped and opened it, expecting the worst.

The brothers could see into the backyard.

"Remember, we're looking for a key- Woah!" Donnie gasped. "Is that a motorcycle?"

"What?" Raph asked, excitedly. "What model?" Donnie, who hadn't heard Raph, continued to look around the backyard.

Leo walked Raphael to the bike, and Raph put one of his hands on the handlebars, and the other on the seat.

"Definitely a 2003 Harley Davidson FLHRCI Road King Classic," Raph grinned smugly. "One-piece tooled leather seat, chrome fender and nacelle. Standard Electronic Fuel injection, and triple-disc brakes for quick stoppin'."

"Dude, how'd you know all that?" Mikey asked in awe.

"I'd know this baby anywhere," Raph replied, rubbing the seat. "Even blind."

Suddenly, the ground shook, and the fence around the backyard was smashed. A giant, mutated animal of some sort crashed into the yard.

Donnie and Mikey were in the doorway of the hotel, and a glass cubicle came down over them, trapping them but leaving Leo and Raph free.

"What's goin' on?" Raph asked.

"Oh!" Donnie exclaimed, as if he had just realized something. "Test of leadership- Leo, you have to lead! You have to get the key with the help of one other person: Raph! That's why Bishop put the motorcycle there, to lure Raph to it!"

Leo looked at the mutated giant. He had no idea what it was. Then he noticed something, and so did Donnie.

"Leo- the giant has the key around his neck!" Donnie yelled.

Suddenly, the mutant roared to life, taking off toward Raph and Leo.

"What the shell's goin' on, Leo?" Raph asked, worried.

Leonardo pulled Raph onto the motorcycle, and put his brother's hands on the handlebars. He put himself on the back.

Raph got the idea and turned to Leo.

"Is the batt'ry okay?"

Leo had no idea.

"Leo, you hafta start this thing- I can't see to do it, and ya gotta hurry," Raph said. "Flip the kill switch to the 'On' position-"

What?! Leo had no idea what that was. He looked around the bike frantically, and panicked.

He reached up and grabbed Raph's head, shaking it, trying to tell him that he couldn't.

"Well, if this one's anythin' like mine, then it's..." Raph reached over and pressed the red button. They had gotten this far. The mutant was closing in on them. Raph could hear it's footsteps. He turned to his brother. "Leo, okay, this one's easy, bro, just turn the key to the right."

Leo grabbed the key and turned it to the right. The motorcycle jumped but didn't turn on.

"Okay, bro, now just make sure we're on Neutral, alright?" Raph asked, forcing himself to stay calm, although he was panicking. That creature was coming at them, and he couldn't see a damn thing.

Leo looked down, shifted to neutral, and nodded Raph's head to show he was done.

"Hold on, bro, I'm pressin' the start button!"

The motorcycle roared to life, and Raph took off, the wind whipping their mask tails.

"Woah, am I headin' toward the house? Where'm I goin', Leo?!" Raph panicked.

The mutated animal raced past them, and Leonardo realized they had to get the key from around it's neck somehow.

Leo noticed they were coming up to the house. They needed to turn right to avoid smashing into the hotel walls.

Leo tried to yell, 'Right!' But couldn't make a sound.

In a flash, Leo pushed Raph's head to the right to signal that he should turn.

Raphael turned exactly when Leo made him, and the motorcycle sped out of the yard onto the pavement.

"If ya had told me a day ago that this is what I'd be doin'-" Raph mumbled, throwing his head back to get his mask tails out of his face.

The mutant was running from them now, clearly intelligent to the situation; Leo assumed Bishop had programmed it to be this way.

It quickly turned a left, ducking into a side street, dark with shadows.

Leo pushed Raph's head to the left, and Raph slowed a tad and curved the bike into the side street.

Breathing heavily, Leo felt tensed up with nerves. He expected to crash into something: a Dumpster, a wall, a person-

Raph swerved the bike and straightened back out, speeding up.

The mutant animal suddenly turned into an alley.

Raph wouldn't be able to stop in time.

What if the alley was a dead end?

Leo gave Raph's head a push to the right, and the red turtle steered them in that direction.

Leo watched in disbelief as the mutant raced over the top of a fallen Dumpster lid, which was at an angle and created a ramp. The creature disappeared over a wall.

He didn't warn Raph- there was no way or time to warn him.

Raph continued down the alley.

The motorcycle sped over the ramp, and hit air.

The angry turtle straightened the front tire and angled the bike to hit the ground right.

The Harley Davidson landed perfectly, speeding off after the mutant.

Leo breathed a sigh of relief, and felt his muscles loosen up.

Raph was better at driving motorcycles than he'd given him credit for.

Suddenly, the mutant reached up and started climbing up an old abandoned warehouse, in King Kong style.

Leo tried to yell, 'Stop!' Then pulled back on Raph's shoulders, in a halting motion.

Raphael slowed down to a stop and Leo jumped off the bike, heading toward the mutant.

"Whadda I do?" Raph asked, staying seated on the motorcycle.

Leo couldn't answer. He jumped up, climbing the building as well.

He reached above his head and grabbed ahold of the thing's foot, pulling it down. The mutant slipped back a bit, and Leo climbed ahead.

He pulled on the mutant's arms, it's legs, anything to get it to fall. The mutant animal thrashed out at Leo, grazing his arm, but the blue turtle pulled up ahead.

Suddenly, the creature's grasp missed the next windowsill, and Leo pushed it's shoulder. The mutant fell backwards, into air.

Leonardo whipped his arm out, circling his fist around the key, and jerked. The chain snapped, and the necklace came loose in Leo's hand.

Grinning in victory, Leonardo watched as the mutant fell, landing on it's back on the concrete with a solid 'thump'.

Leo jumped back down to the ground, and hopped on the back of the bike again.

Raph pressed the gas and turned the opposite direction, and they were headed back to the hotel.

Leo looked behind him, but the mutant was still.


	8. Chapter 8

When the two brothers returned to the backyard of the hotel, Mikey and Donnie had already been released from their cubicle.

Raph parked the bike with a little help from Leo, and they both approached the others.

"Did you get the key?" Donnie asked.

"Yeah," Raph answered, roughly.

Leo held the necklace up, the key dangling from one end.

"What's that?" Mikey inquired, seeing a small piece of paper wrapped tightly around the chain. He reached over and pulled the paper off, unrolling it.

"Oh no," Donnie said, reading over Mikey's shoulder. "It's the address to the next location."

The brothers all looked at each other, except for Raph. He just huffed and rubbed his tired face.

Mikey, Leo, Raph and Donnie all made their way back to the Shellraiser. Leo got back in the driver's seat. He was just glad to be in a vehicle he knew how to drive.

When they were back on the road, everything was quiet.

"At least we know what to expect now," Mikey chirped after a few minutes.

Smack!

"Ow! What was that for?" Mikey asked Raph.

"For bein' so damn optimistic. I just want this all ta be over so I can watch TV."

"Heh heh," Mikey chuckled. "I can still watch TV."

Smack!

"Ow, Raph, that was me!" Donnie complained, rubbing his shoulder.

"Mikeyyyyy!"

...

They were driving down the street, Leo almost falling a sleep at the wheel. It was only about one in the afternoon, but the brothers were all exhausted already.

Raphael was sitting next to Mikey, because without eyes he was pretty much useless. He remembered the promise he'd made to Leo the night before: that he would apologize to Mikey for being so angry.

So Raphael grudgingly turned to Mikey's general direction.

"Ey, uh, Mikey," Raphael said.

Mikey snored once, then woke up.

"Wha-? What happened?" Mikey asked, sitting up quickly.

"Nothin', nothin'," Raph replied and heard his younger brother settle back down in his seat. "I, uh, I was thinkin' 'bout what happened last night, when I got all angry and... Well, I just wanted to say I'm sorry, alright? It ain't yer fault ya got ta keep all yer senses. And when I see Bishop again, I'm gonna beat the sense outta HIM," Raph smacked his fist into his hand.

"You're apologizing?" Mikey asked in disbelief.

"Don't be an idiot."

"Well, that's okay, Raph, buddy," Mikey smacked his older brother on the shoulder. "It's not your fault you can't see, and have anger issues, bro. Besides, the only reason I'm okay right now is because I'm the worst ninja. At least he thought you were a threat," Mikey added sadly.

"Hey, Mike, don' be thinkin' like that. Bishop may be a genius, but he's an idiot." Raph paused. "Shell, sometimes I'M scared a ya."

"Really?" Mikey asked, somewhat hopefully, but also doubtfully.

"Yeah," Raph continued, with an over-exaggerated nod. "Bishop don't know what he's even talkin' about."

"We're here!" Donnie announced to Leo. "Just take a left and pull up in the parking lot."

Leonardo looked out the window, and saw... Nothing.

The house was gone, and all that was left was a large lot.

Behind the lot were a series of old warehouses, the largest closest to their Shellraiser.

"I guess we go to the old warehouse next," Donnie suggested.

Leo and Donnie filed back out of the vehicle.

Mikey gave Raph a smile, even though he knew he couldn't see it.

"Thanks, bro," Mikey said, helping him down the steps.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Raph muttered. "Don't get used ta it."

One thing the brothers all noticed as they walked to the warehouse was that they seemed to be deteriorating, just like Bishop said.

Donnie had to use his Bo staff as a walking stick, and was leaning heavily on it.

Leo was having problems breathing, and it felt as if his throat were swelling a bit.

Raph had a horrible migraine right behind his eyes. It was getting so bad that he pushed his fists against his eyelids, trying to relieve the pressure.

Nobody said anything, though, as they made their way to the warehouse.

It was cold inside, although there was a large bonfire contained in a hole in the center of the floor.

To the left of the bonfire, in the corner, was a humongous, decrepit old piano organ. There were two black speakers wired to the walls next to the piano.

"What... The shell?" Mikey asked, looking around.

"What?" Raph inquired. "What's it look like?"

"There's a bonfire in the middle of the floor," Donnie said, looking at Raph. "And there's an organ to the left. Speakers on the wall. High ceilings."

"An organ?" Raph asked Donnie, grossed out. "Like a brain?"

"No, like a piano, Raph," Donnie replied, shaking his head. "And look," he pointed to the corners of the room. "Cameras. I wonder if Bishop had cameras at the last location."

"Look!" Mikey exclaimed, running over to a note that was stuck to the wall with an arrow. "It says, 'Test of Intelligence: Straight ahead.' That's weird."

Donnie read the note over Mikey's shoulder, and Mikey made his way over to show Leo.

"Test of intelligence?" Donnie gasped. "That- that's me!"

Suddenly, the ceiling opened up, and a large cage descended, trapping Raph, Leo and Mikey. The metal cage scooped them up and held them in the air.

Donnie gaped up at them.

"Damn," Raph huffed.

"Ow! Raph! Your sai's poking me in the leg!" Mikey yelled, kicking Raph in the side with his foot. The cage was obviously too small to fit all three of them.

"Mikey- don't make me clock ya-" Raph growled, kicking back.

Leo frowned as he was caught in the middle of the crossfire.

Donnie took a deep ragged breath and turned to the piano.

The speakers buzzed next to the piano, and Donnie approached it, curiously.

He put a hand on the speaker and felt as a noise blared out of it.

A single noise, lasting a couple seconds.

Was it a piano note? Was Donatello supposed to copy the note on the piano?

But. But he couldn't hear!

This was some intelligence test.

Donnie thought quick. Maybe be could repeat the note.

He walked to the piano and sat down.

What note was it? He'd already forgotten. Donnie gulped.

What would happen if he pressed the wrong note?

Maybe nothing.

Donnie guessed it was somewhere around the middle of the piano.

How was he supposed to hear the note he was picking?

Panicking, Donnie tried to remember the old composer who was deaf and used vibrations to play the piano. Beethoven?

Yes, Beethoven, Donnie remembered.

He pressed his ear to the top of the piano and pushed the middle white note.

Emmmmmmmmmm.

Too low. The vibration was different.

Donnie worriedly looked up as he realized that was the wrong note.

Suddenly, the cage containing his brothers jolted to the left, heading toward the giant bonfire.

"Woah!" Mikey called, falling onto Leo.

"Where we goin'?" Raph hollered.

"Shell," Donnie whispered.

The more mistakes he made, the closer his brothers got to the bonfire.

The cage stopped halfway to the fire, swinging back and forth. He maybe had two more mistakes before Raph, Leo and Mikey would be dumped into the flames.

Donnie quickly put his hand back on the speaker.

The vibration rang out again, a different one. This one higher.

Donnie put his head back on the piano and thought.

Higher than the last one. To the right of the button he'd pushed last time. Maybe four down.

He took a breath, held it, and pressed a note.

Emmmmmmmmm.

"Yes!"

Exactly the right one. The cage was still.

Putting his hand back on the speaker, Donnie wondered how many times he would have to do this before Bishop would let them go.

Another note buzzed out, but it was shorter. Donnie didn't have enough time to consider it before it ended.

Hesitantly, Donnie moved back to the piano.

Which one was it? Was it high or low? Somewhere in the middle.

Donnie hovered his finger over the suggested button.

Should he risk it? Maybe it was the button next to it?

Suddenly, the cage slid down to the fire. His brothers were dangling above the flames, inches from being incinerated.

What?! Donnie gasped. He hadn't even chosen a button!

He guessed he had a time limit now.

Donnie calculated how many tries he had left, and came to one.

One turn.

He HAD to get this one right. He gave Leo a sullen look.

"It's gettin' warm up here, Einstein," Raph hollered.

"Or should I say, Beethoven?" Mikey laughed, slapping his knee.

"Ya shouldn't," Raph stated.

Donnie was concentrating so much on reading their lips that he almost missed the note that was being played.

It vibrated into his ear, almost too quick to even decipher.

Donnie sat up and looked at the keys on the piano.

It had been lower, maybe as low as it could go.

Maybe not the lowest, but the second lowest...

Donnie put his ear to the piano and took a deep breath.

He pressed the second to last lowest key.

Bmmmmmmmmm.

Yes! Exactly right!

"Yeah!" Donnie screamed, jumping up from his seat and doing a quick dance.

The cage removed itself from the fire. The floor to it opened up, dumping his brothers on the hard concrete.

"I did it!" Donnie yelled, running to his brothers and tackling them.

"Good for ya, Einstein. Now let's get the shell outta here," Raph said, sounding relieved.

Leo patted Donnie on the back in praise, and Mikey continued cracking Beethoven jokes until Raph finally had to smack him.

"Hey, what jus' fell on my head?" Raph grumbled.

His brothers looked over at him, and saw a piece of paper covering his face.

Mikey snatched it off and looked at it.

"It's the next address," Mikey announced, with his nose wrinkled. "And the key's taped to it!"

"I guess breaks in between are out of the question," Donnie slurred, feeling emotionally and physically drained.

"This is Bishop we're talkin' 'bout here," Raph replied. "Let's just get to the Shellraiser 'fore I run inta somethin'."

The turtles made their way slowly and sluggishly to their car.

Leo, again in the driver's seat, started the Shellraiser and they were off.


	9. Chapter 9

"I'm takin' a nap," Raph griped after about fifteen minutes. "My head's 'bout to split open."

He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

A few minutes later, Mikey heard the snoring, and got an evil idea.

He crept up beside Raph and grinned maliciously. The red turtle was out cold. Mikey looked over at Donnie.

"It's your funeral," Donnie said.

"Raph, oh no, hurry, wake up, something's happening!" Mikey yelled right in Raphael's ear.

Raph bolted up, fell out of his chair and face planted right on the floor.

"Whaa-?" He blared. "What's goin' on? Mikey?" He tried to look around frantically, but he was blind.

Suddenly, Mikey burst into hysterical laughter.

Raph understood.

"Mikey, I'll rip your insides out!" Raph roared, trying to find him in his personal darkness.

Mikey ran around and around the small inside of the car, giggling like a child.

Raph finally got a grip on his shell, and hoisted him up into the air until he hit the ceiling.

"Don't ever do that again, ya idiot," Raph growled, shaking Mikey back and forth. "I- I was-" He suddenly dropped his little brother on the floor, and tried to find his way to his seat.

"What's wrong, Raphie?" Mikey giggled, making fun of him a bit. "Having a nightmare?"

"YOU'LL be havin' a nightmare if ya ever do that again, Bonehead." Raph crossed his arms over his chest, but didn't go back to sleep.

In fact, he HAD been having a nightmare; one in which Mikey was dying.

Just one of the reasons he had to check on his brothers every night.

He was just doing his job.

Raph leaned back in his seat, just wishing for his sight back, so everything could return to normal.

...

Donnie announced, "Here it goes again," and everyone knew they had arrived.

Leo parked the Shellraiser, realizing he was starting to wheeze. It was almost as if he couldn't take a full breath. He was starting to feel the effects of it, but didn't want to complain. Actually, he couldn't complain if he wanted to.

He climbed out of the car.

Donnie had noticed that when he stood up, his vision was as wobbly as his stance. His balance wasn't the only thing that was precarious: he was getting dizzy as well.

He leaned against his Bo staff and hopped out of the Shellraiser.

Raph stood up, and could tell his migraine was getting worse. He could feel his heartbeat in his temples, and behind his eyes.

He jumped out of the vehicle, with help from Mikey.

The brothers all looked around. They were by an arena of some sort.

"Where are we?" Raph asked.

"A...baseball field?" Mikey guessed.

"A wrestling ring?" Donnie added, curiously. "Interesting. The architecture of this building is similar to the jousting and bullfighting arenas of earlier centuries..."

Leo shrugged, and started walking.

They found the entrance to the arena and walked into the darkness, tension building in the air.

"Raph, I assume this challenge is yours," Donnie said suddenly. "You're the only one of us left besides Mikey, and he has all his senses."

"I dunno, Don," Raph replied. "Bishop said we had four places ta go ta. What's at the last one, then?"

Donnie frowned, reading Raph's lips, then thinking.

"Good point," he finally said.

They walked into a lobby of some sort. There was an old concession stand, covered in cobwebs and a layer of dust. Leo approached it and saw a white piece of paper stuck in the spiderwebs.

"Aw, man, Leo found the note this time," Mikey complained. "Come on, Leo, that's my job!"

Leo gave an apologetic shrug and smiled, reading the note.

"I'll take that!" Mikey took the note from Leo and read it out loud for Raph. "'Test of Strength: Hallway'. Hmmmm. Guess that means we're taking the hall!"

The brothers all made their way down the dark hall, pushing open the door at the end.

They walked out into a brightly lit room, with hundreds of theatre seats, and a wrestling ring in the center.

"Look!" Mikey exclaimed, pointing at a set of seats in the front row. "This one says Michelangelo! Yes! I get my own seat! Move over, suckers!"

Michelangelo pushed past his brothers and raced to the seat, looking at the sign that said his name. "Can I sit on it?" He asked. "Wait, wait! Look! This one says Leonardo! And- and this one says Donatello! Looks like you're out of luck, Raph. You don't get a seat."

"I think I know why," Raph groaned, gulping in anxiety.

Mikey plopped down in his seat and leaned back.

Suddenly, metal straps wrapped around Mikey's wrists, hooking him to the chair.

"What? Aw, man," Mikey complained. "I KNEW something like this was gonna happen!"

"Actually, we might as well sit down, too, Leo. If we want the antidotes, we have to play by Bishop's rules," Donnie said, grudgingly. He wasn't ever one to give in so easily, but he had to admit there was no other way.

Leo sat down, and watched with an almost painful expression on his face, as the metal straps secured him to the chair.

Donnie plopped down in his, still holding his Bo staff, and the straps weaved over his wrists.

Raph was still blind, and feeling some nerves. He had no idea what to expect.

They were in a wrestling ring, so he assumed he was going to have to fight something.

He just stood there for a second, taking deep breaths, trying to quell the headaches that were coming on.

Then, the aisle floor started moving.

It was like a conveyor belt, carrying Raph from the aisle, up the ramp and onto the wrestling ring.

It stopped, and Raph assumed he was in the middle of the ring, so he pulled out his sai.

He heard a door swish open, and felt the presence of many ninja. They made clanking noises as they grew closer, and Raph's eyebrows furrowed.

"What're these things? Robot ninja?" He said sarcastically.

"Yeah, dude," he heard Mikey say from far away.

Raph's blood seemed to run cold. Robot ninja? What kind of a sicko would build robot ninja?

He huffed a breath in exasperation. Bishop. That's who.

How was he supposed to fight? He couldn't see a damn thing.

Raph felt the ring bounce as the robots stepped closer.

The ninja halted, five feet in front of him.

He felt the floor sink as they all bowed in unison. Raph barely bowed at all, afraid to be caught off guard.

Then, they sprang.

Wham!

Raph was taken down from behind. A punch was thrown to his plastron. A metal foot kicked his shins. A hard Bo staff whacked him on the head.

Raphael spun in circles, trying to find someone to hit.

He grabbed one around the neck, feeling the bolts where it's ears should have been. Raph shivered as he picked the bot up and threw it, hearing the wonderful metallic noise as it collided with another ninja.

He was taken down again, and felt a katana blow right past his face, alarmingly close.

How many was there?

Three? Four? Five?

A nun chuck slapped against his leg.

'Why the shell do these bots have all our weapons?' Raph thought suddenly, as his sai connected with another pair, and they batted for dominance.

Raph quickly ducked and turned, grabbing a bot by the back- wait- what?!

Raphael froze.

The robot ninjas had shells.

Turtle shells.

And they had sai, katanas, nunchucks, and a Bo staff.

Raph reached up and found the back of the robots head...

A mask. Mask knots.

"Oh. Shell. No," Raph growled. "Mikey! Hey, Mike- tell me these bots ain't us, Mikey," Raph hollered to his brother, somewhat desperately.

"Uh, sorry, Raph-" Mikey replied.

"Great, just-"

Suddenly, Raphael was taken down, again.

Not only was he fighting robot ninja, he was fighting robot versions of themselves.

Bishop was one sick monster.

A heavy, metal fist connected with Raphael's face. A foot landed in his plastron.

He couldn't breathe. He was laying on the floor, face down. Blinking, desperate to have any sense of sight.

He couldn't see.

He was being pummeled.

Raphael lifted a sai, only to have it kicked out of his hand.

He felt so weak. Pathetic. Useless.

He heard his brothers yelling for him out in the 'audience'. They sounded scared, thinking he was dead. A goner.

But he couldn't do anything, damn it.

He just couldn't SEE.

Well, then, if he couldn't see, he'd have to rely on his other senses.

Raph listened closely. One was closing in on him.

He spun his foot around, knocking it over. He jumped up, hearing the wind reverberate off the Bo staff that was coming at him. Raphael ducked, and the staff took out another bot.

He reached down, grabbed two fallen robot ninja and smashed them into each other.

They clanged, and parts flew everywhere.

Raphael heard the last remaining robot.

He used his one sai to charge the ninja, running full-force in what he hoped was the right direction.

Raph tackled the bot, sending them both sprawling.

He raised his hand, and brought his sai down on the bot's head.

The robot ninja grabbed his sai and tried to take it, but Raph forced it down.

The blades of Raphael's weapon disconnected the robot's head, but the red turtle didn't stop. He kicked the metallic head out of the way, and stabbed, over and over and over.

It seemed like hours when someone grabbed Raph's shoulder.

"Stop, bro!" Mikey called.

"Raph, it's no longer functional, you can stop!" Donnie added.

"Which one is it? Which-" Raph gasped for breath.

"It's you, Raph," Mikey replied. "You're killing yourself!"

"The robot version of yourself has the key-" Donnie said, but Raph couldn't hear him anymore.

Bishop was a dead man. If Raph ever got his hands on that sicko, Raph would make sure he went through every pain and torture and grief that he'd put Raph and his brothers through.

Raph stabbed the bot again, imagining Bishop there in it's place.

Leo had a hold of Raph's shoulders, and Raph could tell it was him.

Raphael had the biggest headache he'd ever had. His eyeballs felt about to pop out of his head.

Leo finally forced Raph to stand up.

His other sai was pushed back into his hand.

"Come on," Donnie said, more slurred than ever. "Let's go."

"I found the note with the next location on it," Mikey added.

"This better be the last one, or I swear I'll-" Raph stopped, holding his head.

The brothers all made their way down the hall, outside and back into the Shellraiser.

None of them wanted to admit it, but they all felt worse for the wear.

Leo silently didn't think he could make it. His breathing was shallow. He was seeing spots.

Raphael felt as if his head were cracking open.

Donnie couldn't walk a straight line. He was leaning almost completely on his Bo staff, and he was so dizzy he felt motion sick and nauseous.

But none of them said a word just yet.

They were all thinking the same thing.

Maybe they'd get the antidote in time to save them.

Maybe.


	10. Chapter 10

Donatello got in the car, and put in the address on his computer. It gave him exact directions.

If he had been feeling any better, he would've loved to get a look at those ninja turtle robots, but he couldn't even see straight at the moment.

He sighed and Leo started the Shellraiser.

The ride to the last location was filled with a variety of emotions. There was hope: maybe this would all end soon. There was fear: what would even BE at the last location? And there was curiosity: Mikey was next, but what what could he possibly DO? He had all his senses.

Finally, Leo parked the Shellraiser and looked back at his brothers with an uneasy expression.

"We're here," Donnie slurred. His voice had become almost unintelligible.

"Woah, ya okay, Einstein? Ya don't sound so hot," Raph said, holding his head. Donnie leaned on Raph and Raph leaned on Donnie.

"What?" Donnie asked him. His vision had become a bit blurry and he was unable to read lips.

"Look! What's that?" Mikey exclaimed, pointing to the building. It was white and clean looking.

"Looks... Like a laboratory of some sort," Donnie slurred, blinking heavily.

Leo was breathing quickly, trying to get some air into his lungs. He started walking, taking the lead.

The brothers pushed through the door. Mikey had noticed that everyone seemed to be on their last legs, but he refused to acknowledge it yet.

The room was white, and there were bright lights on the ceiling. Gurneys sat in the corners, and there were cabinets along the walls.

"Guys, is it supposed to be this easy?" Mikey asked, picking the last key up off a gurney. "It's just sitting right here."

"Yer tellin' me we had ta do all this for our keys, an' all Mikey had ta do was pick it up off a gurney?!" Raph growled, holding his head in his hands.

"Guess I'm special," Mikey grinned.

"Oh, yer special, al'right," Raph mumbled.

In the center of the room, there was another door.

The turtles approached it, turned the cold knob and walked through.

In the room, there was a tall concrete ledge wrapping on the walls. To the right of the turtles, there was a giant metal cabinet. Chains wrapped around the box, and hanging off were four locks.

"The antidotes!" Mikey whooped, taking all the keys and running to the locks. He took about five minutes fitting the keys into the locks, causing them all to fall to the floor.

The cabinet swung open, and Mikey shoved his head inside.

"It...it's empty," Mikey breathed sadly.

"Mutants," came the soft but deadly voice.

The turtles all spun around, seeing Bishop standing up on a concrete ledge about five feet off the ground.

"Bishop," Raph growled, getting ready to pounce in the direction of the voice. Leo grabbed his arm, holding him back.

"Mutants, I must say I'm impressed," Bishop said softly. "You all made it here, and in one piece. Although," he paused, studying them, "it seems you won't be in one piece for much longer."

"Where are the antidotes?" Mikey demanded.

"You do deserve the antidote," Bishop mused to himself.

Raph, holding his head, suddenly collapsed to the floor.

"Raph!" Donnie gasped, trying to catch him. But Donatello's dizziness gave him out, and he fell against the concrete.

Leo held his throat, clawed at his chest, and not so much as fell, but had to sit down to catch his breath.

Mikey realized how weak his brothers were.

"Bishop!" Mikey prompted.

"I can't give the antidote to you just yet, mutant," Bishop replied. "You haven't completed your task."

"MY task?!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Yes. Your task," Bishop explained. He reached into his white coat pocket and pulled out a single vial. "This. This is the antidote."

"That's it?" Mikey asked, looking bewildered.

"Yes. It is enough for one dose. Your task, mutant, is to make the decision. Which brother do you give it to? Which brother do you save?"

"What?!" Mikey yelled in disbelief. "You- you TRICKED me! You tricked US!" He took a step toward the scientist, holding a fist out, as if that could change Bishop's mind.

"Here," Bishop added, tossing the tiny vial to the turtle. "You deserve it. The whole dose must be taken, or the effects will not be reversed. So don't try giving each of them a small portion- that simply will not work." The scientist took a step back to watch Mikey's decision, with a sort of scientific curiosity. "Which brother will you save?"

Michelangelo looked back and forth between his three brothers.

This wasn't fair! Why did HE have to make this decision?

Raph was unconscious. Donnie was mostly out of it, head weaving back and forth, world dizzy around him. Leo was holding his throat, chest heaving, face turning red.

Who did he choose?

"I can't choose between my brothers!" Mikey yelled, hands on either side of his head.

"You will let them ALL die?" Bishop asked, surprised.

"No, no, I-" Mikey stopped.

He had to choose Leo. Leo was their leader. That was no real reason, but Mikey had to make a decision SOMEhow.

Mikey looked Leo in the eyes, mentally telling his brother that he was going to choose him.

Leonardo tried to gulp, and gave his head a quick jerk. His eyes flashed to Donnie.

It was quick, so Bishop couldn't see. Mikey had even almost missed it.

Leo was telling him: don't choose me; choose Donnie.

Mikey had no other way to go. No other reasoning to go on.

"I- I choose Donnie," Mikey said, nervously.

The orange turtle approached Donatello, uncapping the vial.

"Farewell, mutants," Bishop smiled. "Whoever remains- we will meet again."

Then the scientist was gone, out the door. Disappeared.

Mikey ran to Donnie, and tipped the vial into his mouth. The vial was almost empty when Leo pushed Mikey's leg.

Mikey removed the vial and capped it, swishing what little was left of the liquid.

For some reason, Leo wanted Mikey to keep some.

Mike just hoped what antidote Donnie got was enough to save him.


	11. Chapter 11

Mikey helped each brother to the Shellraiser, practically carrying them and setting them in the back.

When each of his brothers were safely inside, Mikey sat at the driver's seat, started the car and drove away.

Raph was still unconscious. Leo was wheezing and gasping, leaning on the seat.

Donnie had passed out as well, but seemed to be breathing normally.

Mikey drove all the way back to the lair, trying not to fall asleep at the wheel.

...

Back at the lair, it was about eight o'clock but Mikey still didn't hesitate to call April and Casey. They were on their way.

Mikey had to talk to Donnie, once he woke up.

Mikey dragged Raph onto the couch, and the red turtle groaned, flopping a hand over his face.

"What happened?" Raph mumbled. "Where's Bishop? Who'd Mikey pick?" His words were muffled under his arm.

Leo was awake still, although he was still breathing heavily, and wheezing. His throat was starting to swell.

Donnie was still unconscious as well, and was still lying on the floor where Mikey had put him.

"Donnie- wake up, bro!" Mikey shook him lightly.

"No," Donnie groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. He was silent for a moment. "Wait. What did you say?" He asked.

"I said, wake up, bro!" Mikey repeated.

Suddenly, Donnie sat up, and looked around happily.

"I- I can hear!" Donnie exclaimed. "I can hear again!"

"Yeah. Leo told me to pick you," Mikey said, sounding strained as if he still wasn't sure he'd made the right decision.

"Why me?" Donnie asked, standing up and wiping the dust from his body.

"I dunno, bro," Mikey answered, looking at Leo, who was struggling to keep his eyes open.

The blue turtle looked up at Mikey and pointed one finger at his nunchuck holder.

"Oh, yeah!" Mikey said, pulling the vial from his belt. "Leo made me save some! I guess I'm supposed to give this to you."

He tossed the tube to Donatello, who caught it and glanced at it oddly.

"What is it? The antidote?" Donnie asked. "What does Leo want me to do with it?"

Leo coughed silently, and dragged himself toward Donnie's lab, pointing inside. Then, Leo passed out on the floor.

"Oh! He wants me to replicate the antidote! To make enough for him and Raph," Donnie said, looking uncertainly at the vial.

"Can you do that?" Mikey asked.

"Maybe," Donnie replied. "Since its something Bishop created himself, I'd have to discover the molecular structure of the liquid to find the ingredients, then use a guess and test type of strategy on how he heated it..." Donnie trailed off, rubbing his chin and thinking. "I'll try it," he finally said, wandering off into his lab.

"Hurry! Leo and Raph don't look so good," Mikey called after him. "Man, I hope Casey and April show up soon."


	12. Chapter 12

"Come on, Raph, ya gotta eat somethin'," Casey tried to force-feed Raphael a bowl of lukewarm soup, which Raph refused to eat.

"Case, you put that up ta my face again, I'm gonna hurl," Raph said, snarling.

"You haven't had nothin' all day," Casey argued. "Come on, just eat the soup, man! It ain't that hard." Casey mourned, already believing Raph was a dead turtle.

Donnie had been holed up in his lab for the last three hours, while Leo and Raph were steadily going downhill.

Mikey approached Donnie's lab and beat on the door.

"Dude! You done in there?" Mikey called.

April paused from feeding Leo his soup to listen, but there was no answer.

Leo tried to swallow the soup, and unlike Raph, he actually wanted to eat, but his throat was almost closed.

He could barely breathe, much less eat soup.

Donnie emerged from his lab, with a portable high-powered electric microscope; one of the expensive ones that zoomed to cell-size. In his other hand, Donnie had the vial of antidote, and three other empty test tubes.

"I think I'm getting it," Donnie muttered, sitting down on the floor, plugging his microscope into the wall, and setting down his vials. "I just had to come in here, get a change in scenery..." Donnie yawned, covering his mouth, and almost falling asleep.

He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes for a second.

"No, Donnie!" Mikey yelled from across the room. "No sleeping 'till you get the antidote!"

Donnie jerked back up, yawning again. He leaned back over his microscope, putting slides of the antidote under the zoom and studying them. He continued to compare the original slides to those he had created.

"I ain't kiddin', Raph, eat the damn soup!" Casey brought his hand down on the arm of the sofa, where Raphael was sprawled out.

"And I ain't kiddin' when I say I ain't eatin' that, Case," Raph grumbled. "I'm tellin' ya, I'm 'bout ta hurl."

Leo gave Raph a jealous glance. He wished he could eat the soup. April was trying, but Leo kept throwing it up in the trashcan. The soup never even hit his stomach.

Suddenly, Raph's head fell to the side as he passed out.

He'd been doing that a lot in the last three hours. He'd wake up, then his headache would be too much for him, and he'd black out again.

"Has Raph been doing that all night?" Donnie inquired suddenly, perking up at the odd sight.

"Yeah," Mikey replied. "His headaches are too bad."

"That's not good," Donnie continued, looking cautious. "If he's passing out, that means he's probably not getting enough blood flow to his brain. That could be serious." Donnie looked back down at his work.

Leo spat out more soup, just not able to swallow anything.

Donnie looked at Leo, now curious as to his health.

Leonardo was wheezing, gasping.

"If Leo doesn't get enough oxygen soon, it could damage his brain, or his heart. He could suffer a heart attack or stroke." Donnie looked frightened, his eyes growing wide. He gulped. "I need to work faster." He bent over his microscope once again, changing the slides faster and faster.

After a few minutes, Raph woke up again, blinking, still not used to his blindness even though he'd been like that for two days.

As soon as the red turtle sat up, Casey put the spoon in front of his face.

"Soup."

Raph covered his mouth and shook his head, feeling nauseous.

"Well, what kinda soup do ya want, then?" Casey demanded.

Donnie didn't look up; he wanted to get done as soon as possible.

Before something irreversible happened to his brothers.

...

Two hours later, Donatello figured he was close to being done. But Raph and Leo had taken a turn for the worse.

"Hurry, Donnie!" Mikey cried from his brothers' bedsides. "I-I think Leo- I- I- he's not breathing-"

"What?!" Donnie yelled, looking over at Leo's body resting on the chair, since Raph had taken the couch. "Mikey, perform CPR and artificial respiration, pronto!"

"B-but-" Mikey panicked.

April sprung at the pale turtle, breathing air into his lungs, and pushing down on his plastron to make sure his heart was pumping.

"Breathe, Leo," April whispered, trying to blow air into his body.

"Donnie- please-" Mikey said, suddenly looking over at Raph. "I think Raph-"

"Don't say it!" Donnie cut him off, fearing that if he heard that Raphael was dead as well, he might give in to his grief and be unable to finish his antidote.

"Raph!" Mikey said, pressing his head to his older brother's chest. "No, no, no. He doesn't have a heartbeat, Donnie! What- what do I do?"

"Put your hands on top of each other, and press down onto his chest, over and over. Then, check his pulse again," Donnie instructed, finally mixing the right ingredients and putting them on a Brunson burner to heat the antidotes.

Mikey did as requested, pushing down on Raph's chest over and over.

Suddenly, Leo coughed and started breathing on his own again.

"Leo!" April cried, helping him sit up to breathe better. "Leo's alive!"

The blue turtle gasped, holding his throat.

"Yeah!" Mikey exclaimed. "Raph's heartbeat- it's normal again. Hurry, Donnie-"

"I'm trying, I'm trying-" Donnie breathed, his hands shaking from tension as he turned the heat up on the burners. "They just have to boil..."

"Well, how long'll THAT take?!" Casey asked, throwing Raphael's soup in the trash.

"Shouldn't be long now-" Donnie mumbled, turning the heat up all the way impatiently. He gulped, wishing the boiling process would speed up a little.

Finally, Donatello saw the bubbles rising and he turned off the burners, hurriedly separating the liquid into two vials.

He quickly blew them to cool them off, and ran to his brothers.

"Are you done?" Mikey asked, hovering worriedly over Raph and Leo.

Donnie nodded briskly, propping Leo's head up, dumping a vial of antidote into his mouth. He tossed Casey the other test tube, and the New Yorker fed Raph his portion of the liquid.

"There," Donnie sighed, relieved. "The antidote should be taking effect. According to my calculations, they should be back to normal in a couple hours.

Casey, April, Mikey and Donnie all collapsed onto the floor, wondering if the homemade remedy would actually work.

...

In two hours, Leo and Raph woke up with a start, drenched in sweat.

Raphael looked around in amazement.

"Woah- I can see! Man, I can see again!" Raph put his head into his hands, feeling a whole new appreciation for the dirty old floor.

Leo grinned at Raph.

"Miss the sound of my voice?" Leo asked, chuckling. His voice sounded a bit raspy since it hadn't been used in two days.

"'Bout as much as I missed the sight a yer face," Raph replied sarcastically.

"It worked!" Mikey cried, hugging Raphael around the waist.

"Don't touch me," Raph grumbled, pushing him away. Mikey went to Leo.

"I missed the sound of your voice, Leo!" he laughed.

"Me, too," Leo replied, hugging his youngest brother back. "I thought I was a goner for a minute there."

"Doubting my mad scientist abilities?" Donnie asked, feigning hurt.

"I missed ya, man," Casey said, giving Raph their signature handshake.

"Can you imagine what Master Splinter would say to us if he heard about this?" Leo asked, seeming to be dreading the situation. "Something about us learning to be more flexible and indispensable. We probably shouldn't tell him about us almost dying, though. That part is probably better left unsaid."

"Yeah, probably," Mikey answered. "But what about Bishop? He's gonna find out we outsmarted him, and he'll be back."

"Let him," Leo said, narrowing his eyes. "We'll be here, waiting for him."

"I'll be waitin' for 'im alright," Raph added, punching the couch. "And that'll be the last time anyone ever sees HIM again."

The brothers all went up to their rooms, and slept, having fitful dreams of Bishop, and wondering how they could become more indispensable. Mikey wondered whether or not he was still the weak link of the team before he drifted off to sleep.

Donnie wondered if Bishop had actually taken any DNA from them all, and succumbed to his fatigue. Leonardo wondered if he was as good a leader as he seemed, and turned over, eyes closing.

And long after the turtles had fallen asleep, their doors opened as Raphael checked in on them.

Just as he always did.

When he was sure his brothers were all safe and sound, he returned to his room, falling into his blankets.

He smiled at the dark ceiling, thinking over his day.

Just as he always did.


End file.
